If you have been a parent of a toddler then you will know exactly what I mean. They truly are mad, a law to their angry little selves! They quite often resemble cross little elves!
I get that they are frustrated because they can't do everything they want to do, and they can't communicate exactly how they would like to, and that the world is an over whelming place to be but seriously some of the melt downs we are starting to experience have to make you chuckle, or we would be banging our head against the table or running for the hills!
I ask myself the same questions most days, or at least a few times a week anyway:
- Why would you not want to eat some delicious home cooked dinner when you are clearly so hungry? Instead you chuck it at your muma, at the dog, up the wall or just have a full blow melt down. Because that just makes sense.
- What do you do when you are so tired and need just a mini sleep and someone is offering you a nice snuggle or your bed? Ah yes, chuck ourselves to the floor and have a paddy. (They will be wishing they took us up on those extra zzz's one day!! ) Okay so this one isn't really a regular thing for Daisy, she loves a good sleep, however it doesn't mean she hasn't done it once or twice!
- I mean how dare someone offer me an apple all prepped and sliced nicely in a bowl? I would much rather wrestle with it trying to be break the skin and get my mouth around a piece of fruit the size of my face!
- That banana has a bit of brown on it, how dare she!
- Why would I want to get this disgusting, stinky, pooey nappy off?
- Dressed? No chance!
- How come you aren't getting me dressed? (After trying to persuade her to get dressed for the past 20 minutes!)
- Get out of the bath? I'm shivering but my lips aren't quite blue yet!
Just a few little insights into the little, confusing heads of a toddler. I can laugh about it now (And I may have exaggerated at times!), while she is fast asleep in her cot looking all peaceful but in all seriousness there are tough days when you think a day is as long as a week. I am lucky with Daisy in that her meltdowns don't last long, she is fairly easily distracted and she moves on. But with things like her eating you really do wonder what is going on in their minds at times.
I have learnt you really do need to pick your battles, just take a good, deep breath and walk away sometimes. Is it really worth trying to wrestle her into clothes if you aren't going anywhere for a few hours, or is it really worth the agonising mini argument to tell them to stop chucking all of their toys across the room. Easier said than done at times though!
If you don't start to think like this then sometimes all these tiny, non important issues build up and you finally crack!
I have also started to try and think how my behaviour may influence her in the future. Of course I can get cross and want to shout back at her, and yes I put my hands up I have often raised my voice to her when she is being a real little rascal and the exorcist in her is creeping out! But I am sure most (not all) of the time she doesn't understand why I want her to eat her lunch, or why I want her all snuggly after her bath and not let her run free naked or why I want her strapped into her car seat safely. So it is now all about trying to reason, distract or move on...
Toddlers, crazy little animals but at the same time the funniest little people ever! Got to love them :)
Hayley xxx
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